Muslim Cultures of Bombay Cinema at Lincoln Center

The Film Society of Lincoln Center (FSLC), in collaboration with IAAC and the Indian Consulate, presents Social Dramas and Shimmering Spectacles: Muslim Cultures of Bombay Cinema from May 19-27, 2010. The series, curated by Richard Allen and Ira Bhaskar, displays the extraordinary richness of Bombay cinema by highlighting classic films that showcase Muslim themes, performance idioms, and lyric traditions

Spanning films from the 1930s to the Present, the series features historical spectacles that celebrate the justice and tolerance of the Mughal imperium as an antidote to colonial rule; films of aching beauty that focus upon the figure of the courtesan, at once alluring, romantic and tragic; and stories of Muslim social life that dramatize the changing social roles of a society in transition.

Social Dramas and Shimmering Spectacles: Muslim Cultures of Bombay Cinema not only reveals the rich expressive idioms of Bombay Cinema, but also reflects the radical transformations in Indian Society of the past 80 years, from the resistance to colonial rule and the challenge to feudal customs and values posed by modernity, to the deep divisions between Hindu and Muslim wrought by the Partition, communalism, and social discrimination.

The multilayered artistic accomplishments that comprise Social Dramas and Shimmering Spectacles: Muslim Cultures of Bombay Cinema encompass music, melodrama, and religious and social concerns, including the Indian New Wave reinvention and recent megaproductions. Many of these rare films have been newly subtitled for the series.

In Person: Walter Reade Theater box office; Hours: Mon-Fri opens at 12:30pm, Sat/Sun opens 1/2 hr before first public screening; closes 15 minutes after last public screening, at 6pm when there are no public screenings.